Water shortage is a significant issue due to pollution of surface water and groundwater resources on one hand and global warming and population increases on the other hand. Drinking water shortage has caused major concerns especially in regions with hot climates. There are two possible approaches to address this issue, one approach is to control water usage and the other approach is to develop new methods and techniques to produce more drinking water.
Most available drinking water generation techniques, particularly those techniques that are based on reverse-osmosis technology, require a significant amount of electrical energy to power water desalination equipment. Industrial water generation plants that generate drinking water by desalinating sea water have negative effects on environment including destructive effects of their waste water discharges on marine environment and groundwater resources. Furthermore, these industrial water generation plants cannot be utilized inland, where no sea water or brackish water is available.
Air humidity on the other hand is a considerable source of water. Recovery of water vapor from air has been attempted utilizing various approaches including by cooling, compressing, adsorption on solid or liquid adsorbents. All the aforementioned methods are energy intensive processes that require a large amount of electrical energy to power the equipment required for cooling or compressing the air in order to extract water from the ambient air.
There is therefore a need for developing water generation plants that may utilize cheaper energy sources in combination with less energy intensive water generation techniques such as absorbing air moisture by a water-absorbent compound to address the serious issue of water shortage.